Roofing machine



C. E. RAHR ROOFING MACHINE Filed Dec. 22 1919 4 Sheets-Sheet l 'c. E. RAHR ROOFING MAQHI'NE 1919 4 Sheets-Sheet 2-" 1,517,582 c. E. RAHR ROOFING MACHINE I Fil'ed Dec. 22, 1919 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented ec. 19..

GHESTER E. RAHR, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE FLINTKOTE GOM- PANY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

ROOFING MACHINE.

Application filed December 22, 1919. Serial No. 346,553. 1

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHESTER E. RAHR,

\ a citizen of the United States, residing in the-city of Boston, county of Suffolk, and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Roofing Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in roofing machines and refers more particularly to a machine for making an improved type of roofing, namely, a prepared roofing shingle'having slots along their lower edges and extending longitudinally thereof, the material from the slot folded back upon the shingle forming raised portions. 7

Among its salient objects are to provide a machine for producing apertures or slots in a bituminous or asphaltic covered roofing sheet, which may or may not have been granular surfaced; to provide a machine which in addition to slitting the sheet at regular intervals, folds backthe. sides of the slitted portion to form raised tab portions upon the sides of the aperture made thereby; to provide a machine which cuts the sheet in convenient shingle units, at the same time producing the slots or gutters therein with the folded back edges, thereby making an improved type of shingle that is more easily laid, more ornamental in appearance, and more serviceable and impervious to weather conditions than the usual type of prepared roofing shingle.

Two means of producing these slotted portions in the roofing sheet are shown in the drawings. In the first machine they are made longitudinally of the sheet and in the second type of machine they are produced transversely upon the sheet along the longitudinal edges.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic side view of the machine for producing the slots longitudinally of the sheet.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the machine shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic side view of the machine for producing the slots transversely on the edges of the sheet.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the machine shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a view of the portion of the roofing in Figs. 3 and 4.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary view of a portion of the roofing shingles after being laid.

Fig. 8 is a detail view of the spring stirmember and associated mechanism.

Fig. 9 is a detail View of a section of themachine showing the spring and cam mechanism as applied to the rolls.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the roofing sheet 1, which consists of roofing felt saturated, having been previously coated with asphaltic, bituminous or like substance is fed first through the slitter 2, which registers with a groove in the bed roll 3. This slitter is a circular cutting blade mounted upon the shaft 4, which is in turn mounted in suitable bearings 5 on the frame 6. After being slit longitudinally, the roofing sheet passes between the rolls 7 and 8. Upon the upper roll 7 is mounted a'series of cutting knives 9 which are set in the form of the letter T. These knives are set across the roll 7 in a straight line and make a li -shaped incision in the roofing sheet at every revolution of the roll. The bed roll 8 directly below this cutting roll has upon its periphery recesses in which the T cutting knives register. After being thus cut, the sheet is transversely severed into shingle lengths by the cutting rolls 10 and 11.

The cutting blade 12 sets in the upper pressure roll, registering with a recess in the lower bed roll 11. The sheet, after being cut into shingle lengths is fed between two spreading rolls 13 and 14. Upon the surface of the lower roll 14 are cam spreaders 15 which cause the edges of the incision made by the T knife to be forced upward and reafter passing the divider 16, the edgesare v slightly turned back so that when the shingle reaches the pressure rolls 17 and 18, the flaps which are extending upwardly, are folded back upon the roofing sheet, thereby forming a slotted portion 19 having double ed es 20.

*rom the pressure rolls 17 and 18, the shingle continues to the pressure rolls 21 and 22 and down the chute 23 into any suitable collector (not shown). Both the pressure and bed rolls employed in this process of cutting and folding back the edges of the incisions made by the T-shaped cutting knives are mounted in suitable bearings 5, which are supported in the frame member 6. The bed rolls in each case are driven in timed relation by means of the bevel gears 25, driven from the shaft'26, by similar bevel gears 27, mounted upon the shaft 26 and meshing with the gears on the respective bed roll. The shaft 27 is mounted in suitable bearings 29 which in turn are supported by the frame 6.

It is essential thatthe dividers 16, which are mounted on a suitable beam 28 have clearance enough above the surface of the roofing sheet so that they no not impede the progress of the shingles when they separate the two flaps of the T incision. To assure this clearance, the lower edges of the dividers 16 may be slightly bevelled as shown at 16.

Gears 30 mounted on the respective pres- 30 sure rolls mesh with similar gears (not shown) upon the bed rolls and furnish a means of driving the bed and pressure'rolls at the same speed.

In Figs. 3 and 4: are produced views of a machine for making a similar type of roofrecesses in the lower bed roll.

ing exce t that the incisions instead of being ma e longitudinally of the sheet are made transversely upon the longitudinal edges. In this showing, the roofing sheet 1, previously described, is fed to the cutting rolls 7* and 8 The knives 9 which make a T-shaped incision in the rpofing sheet are mounted upon the upper roll 7 longitudinally of the roll and at its outer edges, the top or cross'piece 9 of the T being towards the center of the sheet.

As before, the knives register with similar After the T incisions have been made in the sheet, it passes between the forming rolls 31 and 32. On the periphery of the bed roll 32 are mounted two cam-like formers 83 which register with the recesses 34 in the upper roll 31 and turn up the edges of the incision made by the T shaped cutting knives. The sheet, after passing. through the forming rolls has a number of vertically extending portions 35 formed by the upturning of the edges of the T incisions.

It is desired to fold these vertical portions back upon the sheet, thereby forming a double edge to the slot 19. In order to do this, a stirrup 36 is mounted upon the frame 8 and has a compression spring 37 within its upper portion. Below the-spring and elliptical earns 39.

mounted in suitable bearings in the frame 6 is a shaft 38 which has fixed to its ends two These cams which revolve with the shaft, contact the pressure blocks 41 attached to the lower part of the stirrups, compressing the springs 39 against the stationary plates 40. The shaft is rotated in timed relation with the former rolls, by means of bevel gears similar to those driving the pressure, former and cutting rolls, and at each rotation of the shaft 38, the pressure block is stamped down upon the sheet, actuated by cams 39. The lower surface of the .pressure block is slightly V- shaped as shown at 12 and adapted to fold back the vertical portions 35, which were upturned by the forming rolls.

By accurate timing of the cam with the forming rolls, the pressure block may be made to stamp down the upturned edges 35, while the sheet passes between the pressure block and the bed roll d3. The roofing sheet then continues through the longitudinal slitter 2 and thence to pressure rolls 17 and 18 and finall is transversely cut into shingle units by t 1e cutting rolls 10 and 11, identical in construction to those previously explained. The cutting rolls, the forming rolls, the pressure block with its accompanying bed roll, the slitter and the transverse cutting rolls are similarly driven to those in the first type of machine, the bed rolls receivin the drive through bevel gears 25 and 2.7 and the shaft 26, and the pressure rolls together withthe cam shaft 38, the slitter and upper forming roll and roll containing T cutting knife are driven by gears 30 meshed with similar gears on the bed roll.

By feeding the roofing sheet into these machines directly after it has been saturated or coated with an asphaltic or bituminous substance, the double edge slots 19 may be formed therein in a manner which assures a permanent character to the folded back portion as the bituminous or asphaltic substance, while in a hot, moist condition will effectively bind the folded back portions with the roofing sheet. The shingles, after being formed are laid on the roof in the manner shown in Fig. 7 the lower edges of the upper unit 44, abutting upon the shoulders of the folded back portion 20 in the lower unit d5. This not only produces a roof that is more easily hid but also one that very effectively withstands the effect of the elements.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a roofing machine, the combination with a means for feeding a bituminous coated roofing sheet, with or without granular surfacing, or a cutter for producing T-shaped incisions at predetermined intervals in the sheet, means for spreading flaps of the T-shaped cuts, means of folding said flaps back upon the roofing, means sheet, a slitter and transverse cutter for severing the sheet into shingle units.

2. In a roofing machine, the combination with a means for feeding a bituminous or asphaltic coated roofing sheet, of a cutter' for producing incisions at predetermined intervals in the sheet, means for spreading and folding back flaps produced by the incisions, forming a slot with doubled longitudinal edges, rollers for pressing the doubled edges of the slots onto the sheet, of a longitudinal slitter and transverse cutter for severing sheet into suitable shingle units.

3. In a roofing machine, the combination With a means for feeding a roofing sheet, of a cutter for producin T shaped incisions at predetermined lntervals in the sheet, means for spreading and folding back the flaps produced by the T incisions, means for rollingflat the folded flaps to form raised edges on the longitudinal edges of the slot, of a slitter for cutting the sheet longitudinally and a cutter for sevenn able shmgle elements.

4. In a roofing machine the combination with a means for feeding a roofing sheet,

of a cutter for producing T -shaped in- 25. the sheet transversely into suit-.'

cisions at predetermined intervals in the sheet, means for spreading and .folding back the flaps produced by the incisions and means for rolling the folded flaps to cause them to fixedly adhere to the surface of the sheet, of a slitter for cutting the sheet longitudinally, and a cutter ,for severing the sheet transversely into suitableshingle elements.

' CHESTER E. RAHR. 

